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20 • March 2016 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC. LDER


ISDOM by Eloise Tweeten


Eloise@TweetenEldercare.com


Santa Rosa, CA. ~ Wolfgang and Ilse Seibt met in 1939 at the ages of 16 and 17, respec- tively, in the eastern German state of Schlesin (now Poland). T eir fi rst encounter was at a ballroom dance class, and they continued their friendship through sports; cross country and downhill skiing in particu- lar. Wolfgang attended classes at an academically oriented “Gymnasium” for boys, and Ilsa attended a girl’s fi nishing school. Marriage was never discussed or even considered in those early years. Wolfgang had his sights on


becoming a physician, but his plans were delayed when he


fell into disfavor with the Nazi regime aſt er making anti-Nazi remarks. As an accomplished mountaineer and skier, he chose to fl ee from the risk of a fi ring squad by moving to Czechoslovakia and ultimately joining Germany’s elite alpine troops where he fought the Russians on the highest moun- tain in Austria, T e Grossglock- ner. As we spoke, he proudly displayed a pick ax from that mountain of “rock and ice.” Ilse came from a prestigious fam- ily that owned 20,000 acres of agricultural land. She became directly involved in operating the farm which supplied food for Hitler’s military forces un-


TM


From Hitler’s Germany to Life in America: Love Survives


der strict controls by the Hitler regime. Wolfgang and Ilse lost com-


munication during the war, and territories shiſt ed. As the war was coming to an end, Ilse’s father instructed her to lead a party of over 70 women and their children on horse-drawn wagons across Germany to es- cape capture and certain death by the Soviet Army as they moved into former German territory. Despite limited food and hardships along the way, they survived the three month journey into western Germany, reaching US troops and free- dom from harm. Wolfgang contacted the Red


Cross in Switzerland in search of Ilse aſt er the War.


She was


declared legally dead, but he continued his search and dis- covered her whereabouts from


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a relative. T e couple were re- united and he brought her to the safety of post-war Bavaria as German refugees without a homeland. He continued his medical studies at the Univer- sity of Munich and they were married in 1953. Wolfgang ad- mits feeling reluctance to com- mit to marriage at the time, as


he was quite consumed with his early medical career, but Ilse’s wishes prevailed. Ilse contracted with the US


Army in Frankfort, Germany as a dental hygienist for nine years, and Wolfgang later joined her for several years as a contract surgeon.


Seeking ... continued next page


Sebastopol • 829-2477 20 • March 2016 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC.


“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” ~ J.K. Rowling 5800 Guerneville Rd


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